Here's how to play:
*Grab your current read,
*Open to a random page,
*Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page,
*Please no spoilers!
*Share the title and author.
Today's selection is Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (p.39)~
"Last summer, or was it two summers ago, she couldn't remember, Papa had taken them to spend a couple of days in the countryside by a river. She couldn't remember the name of the river. But the water had felt so smooth and wonderful to her skin. Her father had tried to teach her to swim. After a few days, she managed an inelegant dog paddle that made everybody laugh. By the river, her brother had gone mad with joy and excitement. He was tiny then, a mere toddler. She had spent the day running after him as he slipped and shrieked along the muddy shore. And Maman and Papa had looked so peaceful, young, and in love, her mother's head against her father's shoulder. She remembered the little hotel by the water, where they had eaten simple, succulent meals beneath the cool, leafy bower, and when the patronne had asked her to help behind the counter, and there she was handing out coffee and feeling very grown up and proud, until she dropped coffee on someone's foot, but the patronne had been very nice about it."
A difficult to read but hard to put down, fictionalized account of one little girl's experience in Occupied France during the Velodrome d'Hiver roundup on July 16th, 1942. Thousands of Jewish families were rounded up by French police (on order of the Germans) on that summer day in 1942. They were held for several days in horrendous conditions in a stadium in the 15th arrondissement before being moved to a concentration camp in the suburbs of Paris (Drancy). Parents and children were separated before finally being moved to Auschwitz.
The street where the Velodrome used to sit is just a few blocks from us and we've walked past Rue Nelaton many times with absolutely no knowledge of what went on there. While I've not seen a plaque in the neighborhood, the author describes one found on Blvd. de Grenelle which I will now have to look for.
Today's selection is Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (p.39)~
"Last summer, or was it two summers ago, she couldn't remember, Papa had taken them to spend a couple of days in the countryside by a river. She couldn't remember the name of the river. But the water had felt so smooth and wonderful to her skin. Her father had tried to teach her to swim. After a few days, she managed an inelegant dog paddle that made everybody laugh. By the river, her brother had gone mad with joy and excitement. He was tiny then, a mere toddler. She had spent the day running after him as he slipped and shrieked along the muddy shore. And Maman and Papa had looked so peaceful, young, and in love, her mother's head against her father's shoulder. She remembered the little hotel by the water, where they had eaten simple, succulent meals beneath the cool, leafy bower, and when the patronne had asked her to help behind the counter, and there she was handing out coffee and feeling very grown up and proud, until she dropped coffee on someone's foot, but the patronne had been very nice about it."
A difficult to read but hard to put down, fictionalized account of one little girl's experience in Occupied France during the Velodrome d'Hiver roundup on July 16th, 1942. Thousands of Jewish families were rounded up by French police (on order of the Germans) on that summer day in 1942. They were held for several days in horrendous conditions in a stadium in the 15th arrondissement before being moved to a concentration camp in the suburbs of Paris (Drancy). Parents and children were separated before finally being moved to Auschwitz.
The street where the Velodrome used to sit is just a few blocks from us and we've walked past Rue Nelaton many times with absolutely no knowledge of what went on there. While I've not seen a plaque in the neighborhood, the author describes one found on Blvd. de Grenelle which I will now have to look for.
Good morning dearest Kirsten! I am currently reading LES MISERABLES in French....OH WHAT SUSPENSE as I am coming to the end but I keep getting interrupted!!!!! ENJOY YOUR BOOK! Anita
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